Even though the darkness closed in too quickly that day; even if it was cold; even if I was outside with the bitter wind to keep me company, I decided to have a short walk to clear my mind off of things.

It lasted for two hours, and in the end, I had to take the cab home because of the sudden downpour.

<:>

It’s raining here today. How about in your place? I just thought I’d let you know. Maybe this will open up a new topic for us. Maybe.

You didn’t get soaked, did you? Well, take care.

-Clover

I checked the time. It was already a little after midnight, and I was in front of my laptop, yet again, while holding a warm cup of coffee. I was sniffling, and I couldn’t even smell the aroma of the beverage I was drinking. In a way, it disappointed me.

It’s raining, too. I did get soaked. I took a walk earlier, and I didn’t notice it was already pouring. Clover, do you like the rain?

-Thunder

I like it now. You can ask me again if I like it tomorrow.

-Clover

I smirked at his reply. I asked, however, why he would say something like that and he answered:

Because my decisions change. It could be in snap, it could be after a year. It just does. So ask me again tomorrow if you feel like so. I’ll answer it nonetheless. Go rest.

-Clover

<:>

I woke up hearing burbling sounds coming from the kitchen. Despite my clogged nose, I could still smell food. I forced my eyes open and waited for my surroundings to be clear as day. From where I rested I could see a figure working away in the kitchen across me, considering my bedroom door was wide open. From that stance and clothes, I could easily determine it was Sunggyu.

It was only Sunggyu, so I resorted to sleep some more, because I rarely had those kind of urges. I guess being sick could have its own perks every now and again. I couldn’t even be bothered to get up and ask him how he got in.

I stirred and d for my phone. I checked the time, and my eyes widened when I saw my 175 missed calls, all coming from Sunggyu. I glanced at him, and decided to send him a message, instead.

What’s the matter? Did we have a group project or something?

His phone beeped moments later, and he placed his spatula down to check it. After reading my message, he looked at me.

“You were absent for two days,” he pointed out.

I paused to comprehend with what he said, and echoed, “Two days?”

He smirked. “You should tell people you’re sick every now and again, Hana.”

“I didn’t know,” I said. “I thought it was just a cold, so I never bothered.”

I sat up straight, and paused when I saw a chair adjacent to my bed. It had a basin with water in it. A facecloth was neatly folded and draped on its lip.

“Sunggyu,” I began. “How long did you stay here?”

He turned the stove off, and began to fill a bowl with steaming, hot soup.

“A while,” he answered. He glanced at me, and nodded at my door. “I broke it, by the way.”

I cocked my head to a side. “Broke it?”

“The lock. I forced my way in,” he said. “I’ll replace it later.”

I scoffed. “Only you, Sunggyu,” I muttered. “Only you.”

He brought the soup to me afterwards. He asked me if I needed to be fed, but I refused.

“Suit yourself,” was his even reply.

It was surprising, however, when I found out my hands were slightly trembling. I guess I was really hungry. Sunggyu looked around, and said, “How can you live so messily like this?”

“It’s just like that,” I replied. The soup tasted nice. It slid down smoothly, warming my throat and stomach in the process. With each spoonful I took it felt like a tiny portion of my energy returned. He stared at me for a second longer, and without saying anything, he stood up while grabbing a plastic bag I never noticed lying on the floor.

“I’ll go replace the lock now,” he said.

“Did you have it planned beforehand?” I inquired.

He looked at me, and smirked. “Why do you always think everything is a conspiracy, Hana? You remind me of a good friend of mine.”

“Does that friend have ‘trust issues’, as well?”

“He’s just overly conscious,” he replied. “Nothing special, really. Eat away.”

Sunggyu was good at picking locks and repairing them. I assumed it had something to do with his family situation. When he was younger, he still lived with his mom, who suffered from schizophrenia. There were times when her attacks would be too much to handle she’d end up breaking anything her hand touches just to drive the voices and illusions away. At least, that was what I heard from Sunggyu when we were still first year students. We had a retreat, and we ended up as partners to talk about a certain topic: family. He told me his mother depended solely on him. Maybe that was the reason why he wanted to take care of someone else so badly; maybe that was the reason why he loved to feel needed, even if he never said it; maybe that was the reason why he could be overprotective at times.

But of course, all of those would stay as ‘what if’ scenarios in my head, because I couldn’t bring myself to ask him despite us being considerably good friends.

“Sunggyu,” I called out, when I was done with my soup and when he was stretching after successfully replacing the lock.

“What?” he replied.

I paused, and asked, “Do you like the rain?”

He looked away, a certain blankness etched in his eyes. “I don’t like it today. You can ask me again if I like it tomorrow.”

“You remind me of someone,” I said.

“Who?”

“A friend.”

Sunggyu snickered. “Isn’t that grand? We remind each other of our friends.”

My fever subsided, and the lock was fixed. In the end, we resorted to clean my messy apartment. We managed to find the notebooks which contained some story drafts I wrote years ago, and the projects I ‘seemingly’ lost.

“Your place is so small,” Sunggyu remarked. “But how can it carry so many things?”

“One of the wonders of the world,” I returned, while stuffing more unwanted paper into the black bin beside me. “Thanks for helping me out, by the way.”

We were already done when Sunggyu’s phone suddenly rang. The change in his expression was obvious, and it made me curious. He gave a nod and proceeded to answer the phone outside. I looked around me, and noticed his leather wallet resting on my study table. I didn’t know what occurred to me at that time but I flipped it open.

I saw several credit cards, his student ID and some scrap papers. My eyes drifted from the pockets to the Polaroid picture. It showed Sunggyu with a guy. The both of them were grinning widely, with their arms draping around each other shoulders casually. The background was the beach, and the vibrant sky above them together with the warm sun made them glow. My eyes traced the characters written at the bottom of the photograph: Woohyun and Sunggyu, brothers forever!

The guy he was with was the stranger from the bus.

I heard the door click open, and out of instincts, I returned the wallet to its original position and returned to my spot.

“I have to go now,” Sunggyu said without pausing to even take a breath. He took his wallet and his jacket, which was hanging on my chair.

“Go where?” I asked.

He stopped for a moment. “Are you actually curious?”

“Go where?” I repeated.

“To my friend,” he said. “He needs me.”

I looked at the time. It was already a little after eleven in the evening.

“Take care on your way,” I said. “And thank you once again.”

“I will,” he replied. “See you at school tomorrow?”

I nodded.

He waved at me, and in a blink of an eye, he stormed out of my apartment.

The place was calm, but my heart was turbulent.